The Best Shape of My Life!

i did a really nice workout yesterday. just a mixture of things in the gym. started with a great warmup and a bit of a sprint on the treadmill for about ten minutes, then moved into the weight area for some upper body work. after some machine presses, rows, and lateral raises, i went back to the legs and did some balance squats on a wobble board and some rope jumping. mostly an upper body focus day, but wanted to get some leg work in as well.

i’m aiming to do some major legwork today. possibly a bike ride or some running, along with some agility/sprint drills, and, if i still have the energy, some squats, or bodyweight variations of squats. either way, tomorrow morning i’ll probably be really really sore, and what better way to hit the gym at 5 am!?

time. that seems to be the biggest variable in my life at this point. no time for extra things. it’s work, grad school, and then pretty much off to bed. getting some good quality sleep would be nice, but there really isn’t even time for that. sometimes i curse myself for going back to school, but the only way to advance myself and open up opportunities (and definitely get more of an income) is to go to school. funny how that works (well, funny really isn’t the word i’d like to say here).

so i’m finding that trying to gain a bunch of mass, strength, endurance, etc., is pretty much out of the question. i’ve been focusing lately on simpler workouts. not that they’ve been easy, but they aren’t heavy lifting or anything (well, kind of). i’ve been using kiddy equipment at parks lately to do pullups, pushups, dips, leg raises, and just to climb on. i’m finding that hanging and climbing on things is a great way to give your entire body (especially upper) a great workout! add to that a 30-45 minute bike ride around the city (at least to the park and back) or a nice run, and the workout becomes pretty intense. I’ve been sore after each one, so i think that’s a good thing.

i’m trying to maintain bodyfat, weight, etc. i reached the 190 mark, and so far i’ve been holding steady at about 13.5% bf. i think about how i was at right under 10% at one point, and again curse myself for going back to school. but such is life, and i need to get over it. don’t get me wrong, i love school, and i love what i’m studying, and i know that i’ll be able to do a lot of cool things with the phd. but it’s really messing with my pscyhe when i’m so tired to do anything, and when i don’t have the time to fix myself a healthy meal. so i guess i should be happy with and consider myself lucky that i’ve at least been able to keep my bf as low as I have. i guess it could be worse.

according to the acsm, 13.5% bf puts me right around the 50th percentile. so once again, i fall back into the "average" category. ggggggrrrrrrrrrrr. but what can i do?

today i hope to do another workout, if i’m not overly exhausted when i get home. oh, and i’d also like to spend some time with my wife and daughter. go figure.

i was going to measure myself this weekend, but didn’t get to. probably haven’t changed much anyway, so i’m not going to worry about it for now.

i did do some pretty good workouts. not lifting weights, but doing a bunch of other stuff. i’ve probably done about 200 pushups in a variety of ways this weekend! i ran for quite a while on saturday, and then today i went for a bike ride. i stopped at a couple of parks and used the kiddie equipment for some pullups, pushups, swings, ab work, etc. i even took my jump rope with me today and jumped rope for a bit at one of my stops.

i’m pretty sore tonight from all of it, and probably will be sore tomorrow as well. i’m hoping to be able to do more bodyweight stuff tomorrow, too. i’m really liking it, and i’m finding that it works my muscles in ways that traditional weightlifting can only begin to dream about! now, let’s see if i can cut some of this fat by this method. of course, that would require major changes to my diet, which i know, i’ve said it over and over again, need to happen!

it’s overwhelming sometimes. but now that i have a blackberry, i can keep track of myself and what i’m doing. and, i can listen to music while i’m working out, which is a huge plus!

later.

today’s my long day of the week. getting ready to go to work now, then off to two grad classes, each about 3 hours in length. i’ll be done around 10 pm tonight, and i’m sure i’ll be very very exhausted at that point. sometimes i wonder why i decided to take 9 hours of grad classes this semester…but oh well. i’m enjoying it, it just is a nightmare sometimes with my schedule.

yesterday i did do a workout! i get excited when i’m actually able to do one. not a lot of heavy lifting; rather, a more bootcamp style workout. i just picked random pieces of equipment in the gym and "went to town." it was fun, and i’m actually quite sore and worked up this morning.

i doubt i’ll be able to get any kind of a workout done today (though i’m going to try in between work and classes), but i’m going to attempt to do something tomorrow morning when i wake up, or definitely when i get home from work. maybe it won’t be raining and i can get to a park and do some cool stuff on the kiddie equipment. i love those workouts!

I started a new "program" of training/diet. Not really a full, scripted program like some bodybuilders do, but rather just a renewing of what I had been neglecting. I used to log everything in a nice little BodyMinder book, which was great. It kept me on task. But then I quit doing it, thought I could keep up with myself and what I was doing. YEAH RIGHT!

So a little while back I bought a new book, and now I’m getting back into it. Today was the end of Week 1 of 13 (the book gives you 13 weeks worth of logs). So far I’ve been doing pretty well with it. I’ve counted calories most of the days, but not all. Like last time when I did it, I have noticed just how bad my diet really is (hence the reason I have gained so much bodyfat lately)! So that’s a key priority. A huge thing with me is water intake. I have to fight myself to get me to drink water…it’s that bad. So I’m working on that. But all around, I need to lessen the amount of fat I eat. It’s much easier said than done, especially with everything going on in my life.

Training picked up, which was expected. When I’m logging, I hate to leave a day blank, so it’s easier for me to plan a workout, even if it’s just a short one. I’m going to a split routine for weights and an intense routine of cardo/flexibility. I used to take a pilates class on Wednesday nights, and it looks like my schedule this semester will again allow me to do that. I love pilates! It’s a great core workout for sure, plus some legs, and even some upper body. Flexibility, power, and strength, and the coolest thing about it is: you don’t use heavy weights!

Week 1 measurements weren’t that impressive. I think I made a little bit of gains in some areas (chest size increased, along with shoulders). I’m not quite for sure if that’s because I didn’t meausre correctly the week before or what (each area only changed by a max of 0.5 inches), but I’ll watch it more closely in the next few weeks. Obviously, I’m not expecting a whole lot of change in one week, but over the next few weeks, I should start to notice some things………presuming I get my diet in order and stay consistent with my training.

Well, that’s pretty much it. I probably won’t blog on here as often now that school has started. Being a full-time teacher, and a full-time grad students, plus having a family, etc., makes it really difficult to do anything extra, so this will probably be one thing that I give up. I’ll try to keep everyone posted on my weekly status, but I can’t promise much more than that.

LET THE FUN BEGIN!………again.

Well, now that the fair is over with, I’ve sort of been able to get back into a routine of things. I’ve had my younger bro-in-law visiting us this week, so I haven’t been able to get to a great diet plan yet. But that’s coming next week. My wife and I are going to sit down today and start planning it all out. Hopefully it works. I’ll say that it’s a good idea for everyone to just sit down sometimes, read some stuff about diet and proper nutrition (even if it’s just basic stuff you think you already know), and then start over from scratch. If nothing else, it provides a good refresher and clears your mind.

Now…about this last free weekend. I know most people don’t have "free" and "unfree" weekends. But being a teacher, I do. So this is my last free weekend before I go back to work. I’m actually getting excited, as I usually do in August. After having a hectic summer with grad classes and trips, I’m ready to buckle down and get into my routine of work. And, I’m ready to see some new, bright faces, as well as some of the older ones I already know. One of the reasons I love teaching is because I get a fresh start every August. New year, new schedule, new kids (and some old ones), new experience.

One of the best things about getting into my work routine is that it helps me focus on my exercise routine. So kudos to those who work year round and have a consistent schedule. Exercising during the summer is difficult when you don’t have a fixed routine and there are a lot of other things that like to distract you (such as spending all day in the mall because you don’t want to pay for your air conditioning).

So…..here’s to consistency….and to the fun that’s about to begin!

Growing up in a rural area has a lot of cool things….one of them being the annual county fair. It’s a great time and place to catch up with people you haven’t seen in a while, come back to see what’s been going on now that you’re gone, and just to enjoy some good home-style cooking (personal trainers everywhere are screaming right now).

This week was fair week in my hometown, so my wife, daughter, and I packed up last weekend and came down for the fun and games. I’m not that much of a fair "fan," but it’s nice to get out, see people, see the animals, and ride some of the carnival rides. Well, ok, my daughter rides the rides…I take pictures.

It’s also nice to come to a place where no one really cares what you look like, how much you can bench press, or what protein powder is supposedly the best for you. Every once in a while, I just get to a point where I need a break from all the vanity, and this is great way to achieve that!

So, just in case you’re wondering….

I haven’t done a major workout in a week or so, I have been eating a lot of greasy foods and sodas, and don’t forget the ice cream. And you know what? I FEEL GREAT! I have left my psychological baggage in the city, and it’s been good to just a "farm boy" again.

I know a lot of people, especially on this board, will disagree, but every once in a while, I suggest we take a vacation from the harsh vanity of finding perfection and just learn to enjoy life for what it is. Of course, there’s a difference between vanity and health, so I don’t recommend eating junk and grease every day, all year long. But when a nice, relazing opportunity comes up like a fair, and you have a chance to visit old friends and family, plus have some fun and eat some cool food (like funnel cakes and homemade ice cream), why not indulge?

That’s all for now.

Really cool. Ok, not really…it was FREAKIN’ HOT! But weather aside, my workout was neat. No heavy weights, and no long distance running. Just some good old-fashioned (I think) kick-me-in-the-rear training. Borrowed from boot camps everywhere.

I did a bunch of jumping jacks, pushups, rows (with only 10 lb dbs), lateral raises, and sprint drills, among other things. The workout lasted about 30 minutes. I wanted to do more, but it was getting hard to breathe in the hot humid climate we call the midwest. I don’t know if it’s partly because of my asthma or just that I’m not used to training like that, esp. in the heat. Either way, it was fun, and I’m planning on doing more like that.

Being out of town for a while really makes me think about what I can do and how to do it. Sure, I could go to a gym here (about 25 minutes away), but why pay the outrageous guest fees? That’s an issue that I have with gyms…they make people pay outrageous prices to feel good about themselves. Talk about a scam! But that’s another blog, another day. The point is: I’m not going to pay for a workout when I can get a great one right where I’m at.

Tomorrow I’m going to aim for much of the same. My legs are still a bit sore from the running I did last Thursday. Pathetic, I know. But working out today really helped…that and the hot tub. So hopefully I’ll get a good thirty minutes in tomorrow, too. Might even get to play tennis with my bro-in-law, or maybe go to the pool. I think I’m going tubing on Tuesday evening with my younger bro and some church buddies (including the pastor). That is a great workout!

Anyway, feeling good, getting ready for bed. Stretching felt SO GOOD after my workout, BTW.

We celebrated my daughter’s second bday yesterday. It was a lot of fun. A lot of family from both sides came out, we had cake and homemade ice cream (yeah, I know, that’s not supposed to be on my diet….but screw that, it’s a bday party). My wife made the cakes, and she and her mom decorated them. I made the ice cream. Electric ice cream maker, so not much of a workout, he he he he.

She officially turns TWO tomorrow (Jul 28). Wow, I can’t even imagine that two years have flown by that fast! How fast will it be before she’s 16? aaaaahhhhhhhhh!

I’m so happy! I can check off two more courses from my master’s plansheet. Of course, I only have about 10 more to go (and that’s just for the masters). But all in good time.

Research Methods was an interesting (uh…..right) course. I loved statistics, though! Good thing for me, because I have to take about 5 more statistical analysis courses before I get my PhD. They’ll be fun, though.